For #3 - why not attach them to a rigid plastic headband. The headband itself could be camoflaged with something.

Savannah: I don't know what it is, but no thread here escapes alive. You'll get 1 or 2 real answers at minimum, occasionally 10 or 12, and then we flog it until it's unrecognizable and you can't get your deposit back.

See my tail? Its made on a coat hanger. It stands straight out because the wire has a 2 or 3 inch diameter circle of wire hand sewn to the skirt on the inside. Because the skirt is tight, the loop of wire lies flat against my backside. Maybe you could attach them to a snug fitting or ridged hat, headband, helmet. Two things that are a great start for headgear are bike helmets and baseball caps, (with the bill removed). You can attach a bunch of stuff to an adjustable baseball cap and it stays put.

Those aren't buttermilk biscuits I'm lying on Savannah

Pictures or it didn't happen Greycoyote

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.Arthur Schopenhauer

great ideas you guys, thanks. I probably wouldn't want a hat, even though it makes sense, because I like the look of horns/antlers peeking out of my hair. BUT, a headband might work. I was thinking it'd be uncomfortable if I wrapped wire around it, but I suppose I could sew or glue on some kind of fabric or padding?

oh and if I make more, I'll form them around hangers or armature wire for sure.

wandergirl wrote:great ideas you guys, thanks. I probably wouldn't want a hat, even though it makes sense, because I like the look of horns/antlers peeking out of my hair. BUT, a headband might work. I was thinking it'd be uncomfortable if I wrapped wire around it, but I suppose I could sew or glue on some kind of fabric or padding?

oh and if I make more, I'll form them around hangers or armature wire for sure.

I like the headband idea. As for making it more comfortable: Memory foam on the underside? It would probably help with getting a secure fit, too. I know from experience that cotton batting won't be effective for either purpose.

I have a Medusa headdress I made for Halloween years ago. It looks great, but it's top-heavy and uncomfortable. The base is a plastic colander. The snakes are wired with heavy wire which is threaded through the colander holes. I put some cotton batting inside the colander, to cover those bits of wire, but they don't actually help much. I'd need to make it more comfy if I'm to bring it to BM, and I've been leaning heavily towards memory foam. I think it would make it both more comfortable and more secure. I'll probably have to limit its use to cold nights, though. It would be a one-way ticket to heatstroke during the day.

If you want drama to stop following you everywhere, try letting go of the leash.

memory foam is a good idea.
oooooh, photos of medusa headdress? I wanted to be a post-apocalytpic medusa for halloween last year and had this vision of a mohawk made out of snakes. it didn't work out. but now I have a whole lot of rubber snakes.

If you are thinking about making something like those horn I think making them out of expandable foam blown onto a cot wire would work quite well. That stuff does not break. Then just carving it down and painting it.

maladroit- Burning Man is like a second job, except you pay to work there.
Burning Man is just the pre party for exodus! - fellow burner during exodus

wandergirl wrote:2. I'm making (bat, bird, butterfly, something) wings out of armature + EL wire. but I also wear a camelbak at night. any ideas how to wear them both? ideally, in such a way that I can access my camelbak without too many loopy-headed gymnastics?

I know someone did this a couple of years back, but I don't remember who, or how. I also don't remember if there was a post-playa report.
Obviously, be wearing the camelback, with bladder full, and other stuff you think you'll carry, when you make the measurements.
You could make the wings attach to the camelback. It would save you having to take them off as separate items when you sit down. (I'd say and when you dance, but maybe you want them on when you dance, and I disapprove, because that's so sparkle pony, but that's not really any of my business.) I'm trying to figure out how to fix my collapsable headphones that I fixed wrong before so now the open up too far and fall off my head, so, I'm not a good person to ask. (Although, I might be interested in the answer...)

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.
Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

And as for Medusa...When I was a kid I went to a costume party at Athena. My mother made me a wonderful Medusa head... I know, different problem. It just seemed interesting that there was this overlap.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.
Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

wandergirl wrote:hi all! I thought about starting a new thread, but this one serves the same purpose. I would love some costume brainstorming help on a few different things.

1. is there anything playa-friendly one can use to spike/hawk hair that also won't inadvertently turn it into one gigantic dreadlock for the remainder of the week?

2. I'm making (bat, bird, butterfly, something) wings out of armature + EL wire. but I also wear a camelbak at night. any ideas how to wear them both? ideally, in such a way that I can access my camelbak without too many loopy-headed gymnastics?

3. I've made a bunch of clay horns and antlers, like these. but I've discovered any that aren't tiny want to flop over when I tie them on my head. any way to troubleshoot the ones I've already made? (with only ribbonholes in the bottom?) like, attach them to something, somehow? I could also make more with armature wire embedded inside and affix it to something. (what?)

yay costuming!

I. I take dry shampoo with me (Suave makes some that is less than $3 a bottle) and that helps clean the gunk and dirt out of my hair and also helps give it hold and body. After a couple days, between dry shampoo, playa dust, and a little water or gel...anyone can hawk their hair. I would use a gel that goes stiff and can be combed out later with the dry shampoo, any kind of paste is gonna just become mud in your hair.

2. Waxpraxis made EL wings for his wife last year and documented it in this thred, if you search back you can find it. It looked easy enough to modify the shoulder elastic so that it could be worn easily over a camelback.

3. If the horns are small enough and not really heavy they would attach well to the hair clips used for weaves and hair feather. A flat rectangular comb-like "snap" that hold whatever is attached to it pretty firmly in your hair. You might be able to glue the horns to such a clip and therefore hide them in your hair to look "natural"

May All Beings Be Well
May All Beings Be Happy
May All Beings Be Free From Suffering
-Buddhist Blessing

yay, thanks so much for your ideas! dry shampoo and gel, check. I'll play with some hair clips for sure. I made the horns/antlers out of super light air-dry clay over foil skeletons, so they barely weigh anything. they just don't want to stand up.

Well, you can always give a coat or two away.
(I bet there's a clueless or unlucky birgin that would need one. But it all depends on how your burn goes, of course...)
Yeah, there are sorts of feathered and butterfly wings, but bats are rare and so are beetle wings. Of course, beetles have shell wings and flying wings...

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.
Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

Sorry to clog up this thread, bu I just realized that VampireKitten is wearing antlers that stick out from her hair in her profile pic. Maybe you could PM her for help? Might be better than our speculations...

If you want drama to stop following you everywhere, try letting go of the leash.

I have some shredded lace bat wings. Hot Topic clearance rack. Embellished with MOOP for a moop fairy costume, I made clatter bells from plastic cups and mardi gras beads which cascade down the middle of the wings in the back.

wandergirl wrote:great ideas you guys, thanks. I probably wouldn't want a hat, even though it makes sense, because I like the look of horns/antlers peeking out of my hair. BUT, a headband might work. I was thinking it'd be uncomfortable if I wrapped wire around it, but I suppose I could sew or glue on some kind of fabric or padding?

oh and if I make more, I'll form them around hangers or armature wire for sure.

Our horns just are on a thick string...ie shoelace.....that ties under your hair (if you have any:-) I only mention that because I don't!) and stick up very well out of the hair. Even my hubby wears them....of course he is the most devilish of us anyway! We bought our first pair and made some others from femo. You have to embed the lace in the stuff when you are forming the horns.

PMing vampirekitten is a good idea! I've seen her avatar around.
inthecolumbiagorge, I've found a shoelace works for my smaller horns, but some of the antlers are about ten inches tall and they probably need to be affixed to something rigid.

also I love the idea of translucent panels in the beetle wings, especially if the EL wire reflected off it. omg so many projects. thanks everyone!

lazerfox wrote:Bought another pattern for the kimono. I think this one will work better for what I need than the one I have. It was pretty cheap ($5) so don't feel too bad about having to buy another. Just excited to feel like I'm finally on the right path.

In the mean time I need to try to get some progress on other items and then I'll be happy as a clam.

I have used this kimono pattern in the past. Hum, might need to make another one...

wandergirl wrote: I like the look of horns/antlers peeking out of my hair.

Fake hair scrunchies could help with this illusion by hiding any support needed, . There are some really wild ones out there, if you look, and cheap enough!.......... and of course any could be added to......

Worry is a misuse of imagination
“She hadblue skin, And so didhe. He kept it hid And so did she.They searched for blueTheir whole life through,
Then passed right by- And never knew.” Shel Silverstein

What I really want to wear during daytime is something like this...
This is from an Indian designer and I love her collection. The style is very easy and flowy. I love it.
I want to make it so bad, but I don't even have a sewing machine

You actually could just about make that without a sewing machine! There are probably only about 3-4 seams in that and you could use iron in "stitching" for the seams and hand sewing for anything most intricate. It is lovely and really that would be a simple project, easier of course with a machine but I think doable without.